Sheep at the Great Yorkshire Show
Breeds
There are many
breeds of sheep, but these are generally sub-classable as
wool
class, hair class and
sheep meat variety breeds.
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Major wool breeds include
Merino,
Rambouillet,
Romney, and
Lincoln.
Drysdale and
Herdwick are bred specifically for
carpet wool.
Breeds of meat sheep include
Suffolk,
Hampshire,
Dorset,
Columbia,
Texel, and
Montadale.
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Breeders of dual-purpose wool class sheep concentrate on fast growth,
multiple births, ease of lambing and hardiness. An easy-care sheep is the
Coopworth that has long wool and good lamb meat production qualities.
Another dual-use breed is the
Corriedale. Sometimes sheep are used for both purposes equally and
cross-breeding is practiced to maximise both outputs. For example,
Merino ewes providing wool may be crossed with Suffolk rams to produce lambs
which are robust and suitable for the meat market.
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Hair class sheep are the original class of sheep in the world, developed for
meat and leather. They are prolific and highly resistant to disease and
parasites. Dorpers and Kahtahdins are composite breeds of wool and hair crosses
with different degrees of wool/hair mixes within the hair class. True hair sheep
such as
St. Croix,
Barbados Blackbelly,
Mouflon,
Santa Inez and
Royal White shed their protective down fiber to an all hair coat in the
Spring/Summer. Hair class sheep are becoming more popular for their no-shear
aspects.
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These are low resolution photos. Original photos are for sale - prices
starting at £5 for the jpeg. Discounts for bulk orders. Please see contact
details. Click on the thumbnail to enlarge.
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